Not a bad deal for San Diego. 2010 was not good for him — he hit .254/.324/.350 — but he’s a year removed from a nice 2009 season and could fare better in the National League than he did in the AL East.

I like Bartlett a lot. He is a smart base runner and a useful player. I was one of the few fans who did not criticize the TB local media for naming him the Rays’ MVP in 2008.

But some caveats. One, his 2010 offensive stats are a lot closer to his career performance, and to 3 of his previous 4 years, than his 2009 performance was. So I would not expect much of a boost in his offense, even if he is moving to the NL. And two, there is some evidence that his defense has been steadily declining over the past 3 years as well, actually every year since 2005 so that the last 2 years he appears to be a below average fielder.

This may be a reasonable move by the Padres, but I would be careful not to overstate its significance.